Given that all airlines have a goal of selling as many tickets as possible for the highest amounts possible, wouldn't "crazy" be making those attractive flights with higher revenue load factors available at the saver award level 2+ months out? Saver awards are intended to be capacity-controlled inventory that is essentially the portion that the airlines predict they can't sell. Maybe it's a matter of perspective, but it doesn't surprise me in the least that these flights wouldn't be available as saver awards. It's the less attractive, off-peak flights that typically go out with very low loads that get the advance availability.

Closer to the flight date the picture is very different - look at DEN-ORD over the next 10 days - almost wide open availability in saver F, plus lots of saver Y on flights earlier in the day. You're looking at expected "leftover" inventory there, when there is much more certainty about the per-flight loads.

It's not ideal at all but it's hardly any sort of a mystery or poor business practice.